Leaders of the Kaduna State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have dismissed speculations of mass defections rocking its ranks. According to the chapter, there is unflinching loyalty to the party and renewed determination to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) at all levels.
Rising from an expanded caucus meeting held at ASAA Pyramid Hotel, Kaduna, the party stalwarts reaffirmed their total commitment to the unity and progress of the PDP ahead of critical bye-elections in the state.
Chairman of the party in Kaduna, Sir Edward Percy Masha, who signed the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, stated that the caucus had resolved to distance the state chapter and its leaders from rumours suggesting they were plotting to leave the party.
According to the communiqué, the meeting declared unconditional support for the current national leadership of the PDP, including the Board of Trustees and the PDP Governors’ Forum, lauding their ongoing efforts to convene a national elective convention to reposition the party.
The party further threw its weight behind possible alliances or strategic partnerships being explored by the PDP’s emerging national leadership after the proposed convention, aimed at dislodging the APC from power at the federal and state levels.
“As a party in Kaduna State, we are united, we are focused, and we have resolved to work harmoniously for the success of PDP candidates in the three constituencies where bye-elections are imminent, as well as in all future contests,” the communiqué read in part.
Party insiders who attended the meeting told Journalists that discussions also touched on consolidating the PDP’s grassroots structures to counter the APC’s influence and correct what they described as the ruling party’s “woeful governance failures” across Kaduna.
The expanded caucus meeting was attended by serving and former lawmakers, local government party chairmen, youth and women leaders, and other key stakeholders drawn from the three senatorial zones of the state.
With the state bye-elections around the corner, the PDP’s latest move signals its intent to close ranks, quash internal dissent, and present a united front to reclaim lost political ground from the APC.